Impact study on physical activity scores on age equality locomotor, object control and motor skills in preschool children

This study aims to determine the effects of physical activity on age equality locomotor, age equivalents object control and gross motor skills. The Study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 of the study was descriptive in nature, involving 120 preschool children (B = 60, G = 60) was six years old. As for Phase 2, subjects consisted of preschool children in a government school in Bandar Seremban preschool, aged six years old who were learning Physical and Aesthetic through the National Pre-School Curriculum Standard (KSPK). Size study sample consisted of 50 preschool children (B = 32, G = 18), and sampling method is convenience sampling. The instrument used in this study is a Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) developed by Ulrich (2000). Data obtained through motor ability tests cover six locomotor tests and six object control tests. MANOVA analysis and MANCOVA were used to determine the effects of an intervention program to control the pre-test. Findings: Based on the Phase 1 the study found that the level of gross motor development of preschool children between three preschools are not equivalent to the age of locomotor and object control. A government preschool selected for Phase 2 because the findings of means for gross motor skills are low compared with the mean score for the gross motor skills for KEMAS and private group students. The findings of the analysis of Phase 2 of the pre-test and control treatment groups reported a significant difference in the mean gross motor skills [F (3,46) = 4.99; p 0.05, eta squared = .041]. The tests showed traces of physical activity significantly to the gross motor skills of preschool children. There are significant differences in the mean gross motor development [F (3,46) = 11,296; p <0.05, eta squared = .424] between the control and treatment groups. Univariate F test analysis showed a significant difference in post-test scores for the dependent variable AEL [F (1,48) = 21,324; p <0.05, eta squared = .308], AEM [(1,48) = 24.71; p <0.05, eta squared = .340], and GMDQ [F (1,48) = 20,215; p <0.05, eta squared = .296], and for the treatment and control groups. Discussion: The overall level of motor development of preschool children are at a low level. The results support the intervention program that uses the module physical activity can help improve gross motor skills of children treated group

Analisis Temporal Aksi Servis Sila dan Servis Kuda dalam Sepak Takraw

Servis kuda ialah teknik servis yang baru dalam sukan sepak takraw. Teknik servis ini diperkenalkan di peringkat antarabangsa oleh pasukan Thailand pada tahun 1995. Servis kuda dilakukan dengan aksi plantar fleksi kaki dan bahagian kekura kaki ketika fasa kontek bola-kaki. Bahagian anatomi kaki tersebut memberi permukaan kontek yang lebih luas berbanding permukaan kontek servis sila tradisi kepada sukan sepak takraw. Secara teknikal, mekanik servis kuda memberi kelebihan respon dalam aspek-aspek kestabilan kontek bola-kaki dan halaju bola pascakontek. Kajian ini bertujuan membandingkan ciri-ciri kinematik servis kuda dengan servis sila melalui analisis video fasa-fasa temporal berikut; (i) fasa prakontek, (ii) fasa kontek dan (iii) fasa pascakontek. Fasa prakontek melibatkan aksi pengumpan memegang bola dalam keadaan statik serta aksi tekong dalam keadaan sedia untuk menerima umpanan bola. Fasa kontek bermula sebaik sahaja bola dilepaskan daripada tangan pengumpan sehingga berlaku kontek bola-kaki oleh pemain tekong. Fasa pascakontek pula merangkumi pergerakan bola melepasi kaki tekong sehingga ke pemain penerima pasukan lawan. Parameter respon yang utama dalam fasa ini adalah halaju bola yang diservis oleh tekong. Selain tujuan yang disebutkan, kajian ini turut meninjau ciri-ciri temporal servis ace dan servis laju bagi kedua-dua teknik servis kuda dan servis sila. Data kinematik bagi kajian ini diproses daripada rakaman video pertandingan sepak takraw semasa temasya Sukan SEA Kuala Lumpur 2001. Daripada data tersebut, analisis temporal dua-dimensi dilakukan dengan bantuan perisian ADOBE PREMIERE. Fokus utama analisis temporal adalah terhadap masa pergerakan bagi setiap aksi utama berdasarkan fasa-fasa temporal yang telah ditetapkan.Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa perbezaan signifikan ciri-ciri temporal servis kuda dan servis sila adalah semasa perlakuan fasa prakontek [F (1,18) = 4.946; p < .05] dan fasa kontek [F (1,18) = 73.042; p < .05].Perbandingan ciri-ciri temporal bagi fasa pascakontek untuk kedua-dua teknik servis tersebut tidak menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan.Perbandingan ciri temporal antara servis laju dan servis ace bagi kedua-dua servis kuda dan servis sila juga tidak menunjukkan perbezaan signifikan untuk fasa-fasa prakontek, kontek dan pascakontek. Kesimpulannya, perbezaan temporal yang wujud antara teknik servis kuda dan servis sila adalah terbatas kepada mekanik persiapan servis sahaja.Dalam aspek servis ace dan servis laju bagi kedua-dua teknik servis tersebut, perbezaan hasil aksi didapati disebabkan oleh ciri-ciri temporal servis. Variable prestasi yang berpotensi menyebabkan perbezaan antara servis kuda dan servis sila ialah kekangan persepsi. Bagi menguji andaian tersebut, beberapa cadangan bagi mempertingkatkan tahap penyelidikan dalam bidang ini turut dibincangkan

Differences in locomotor gross motor development level among grade 1 ballet dancers, students with and without co-curricula

Purpose: The study is a survey form ex post facto and the purpose of this study was to identify the level of locomotor skills among grade one ballet dancers, students with co-curriculum and students without co-curriculum. Methodology: A total of 90 students of the boy and girl who are around Klang and Seremban area have participated in this study. Gross Motor Development Tests (TGMD-2) by Ulrich (2000) was conducted to determine the level of locomotor skills of level one primary school students. Statistical analysis Kruskal – Wallis test was used to analyse the mean score between the group of level one primary school students. Result: The results showed a group of ballet dancers grade 1 had the highest mean (M=3.13, SD=1.008), compared with a group of students with co-curricular activities M=2.000, SD=0.000) and a group of students without co-curricular activities (M=2.000, SD=0.000). However, significance differences in the scores also showed significant differences among the three groups with the estimated value of significance is 0.000. Findings and discussion: Studies show locomotor skills development of primary school students are still not developing well according to their chronological age

Perbezaan tahap kesetaraan umur visual motor integrasi kanak-kanak tadika

(Tujuan) Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti tahap perbezaan kesetaraan umur visual motor integrastion (VMI) dalam kalangan kanak-kanak Tadika Kemas yang berumur 4 hingga 6 tahun. (Kaedah) Kajian berbentuk tinjauan ini melibatkan seramai 90 orang peserta (L=45, P=45). Ujian visual motor integrastion menggunakan instrumen Beery VMI edisi ke 5 (2006) telah dijalankan untuk mengukur tahap motor integrase kanak-kanak tadika dalam bentuk visual motor. Skor yang diperoleh daripada peserta telah dianalisis untuk mendapatkan skor mentah dan skor kesetaraan umur. Skor-skor ini telah dianalisa menggunakan statistik ANOVA untuk membandingkan min kesetaraan umur VMI peserta berdasarkan kumpulan umur. (Dapatan) Terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan bagi skor keseteraan umur visual motor integrasi dengan kumpulan umur [F (2,87) = 6.0, p.05). (Perbincangan) Kajian menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan terhadap perkembangan motor integrasi dalam kalangan kanak-kanak Tadika Kemas

Review of critical thinking and fighting spirit among athletes.

This paper is written as a conceptual paper where the main purpose is to discuss about the importance of critical thinking and fighting spirit on athlete’s performance. Cognitive approach as one of the famous approaches in psychology concentrates on the important role of mental processes such as processing and remembering new information, developing language, problem solving, and thinking. Moreover, critical thinking specifically emphasises on some cognitive processes which attempt to minimize the influence of preconceptions and biases while rationally assessing evidence and signs, concluding on the base of interpretation of evidences and signs, and concerning alternative explanations. On the other hand, fighting spirit refers to the internal motivation due to enhance the athletes’ performance through the sport competition. The authors explain the definitions of cognitive approach, critical thinking, fighting spirit as internal motivation among athletes, and also a briefly discussion on importance of critical thinking skills among athletes are included in the discussion. Future direction in critical thinking research and fighting spirit among athletes is brought up as well suggestion to psychologists and sport psychologist to embark critical thinking research

Reaksi pelajar terhadap program Pendidikan Luar dan hubungannya dengan pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menentukan hubungan di antara reaksi pelajar terhadap program Pendidikan Luar dengan pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran diperoleh selepas program. Kajian ini juga untuk menentukan perbezaan pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran pelajar sebelum dan selepas program. Reka bentuk kajian kuantitatif ini melibatkan 182 responden (L=96, P=86) yang mengikuti Program Pensiswazahan Guru Sekolah Rendah. Kajian ini menggunakan Model Penilaian Kirkpatrick 1994, sebagai model penilaian. Borang soal selidik sebagai instrumen kajian dengan menggunakan format likert-scale. Data dianalisis menggunakan statistik diskriptif, ujian-t berpasangan dan korelasi. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap reaksi pelajar terhadap program Pendidikan Luar yang dijalankan adalah pada tahap yang tinggi (M=4.00, SP=0.34). Bagi penganalisaan pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran sebelum dan selepas program menunjukkan terdapat peningkatan selepas mereka mengikuti program; Nilai min bagi peningkatan ialah 3.67 (SP=0.41) sebelum program dan nilai min meningkat kepada 4.05 (SP=0.34) selepas program; Nilai min bagi sikap 3.66 (SP=0.27) sebelum program dan min 4.06 (SP=0.28) selepas program; Nilai min bagi kemahiran ialah 3.78 (SP=0.22) sebelum program dan min 4.03 (SP=0.28) selepas program. Terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan terhadap pengetahuan (t= -9.94, p= 0.01), sikap (t= -12.9, p= 0.01) dan kemahiran (t= -9.12, p= 0.01) sebelum dan selepas program dijalankan. Manakala terdapat hubungan signifikan di antara reaksi pelajar terhadap program Pendidikan Luar dengan pengetahuan (r=0.20, p=0.01), sikap (r=0.21, p=0.01) dan kemahiran (r=0.20, p=0.02). Pelajar cenderung untuk mempelajari dan berubah kepada sesuatu yang lebih baik dari segi pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran selepas mengikuti program. Peningkatan terhadap pengetahuan, sikap dan kemahiran pula berkait dengan keberkesanan perancangan dan pengolahan sesuatu program itu

The level of the functional movement screen among traditional dancers

Movement assessments are commonly used to assess athlete’s risk of injury as well as basic and specific skill movement patterns; however, dance is identified to be differing from sports because the average dancer’s training load is higher than the athletes. This study aims to identify the difference in the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) level among traditional dancers in Malaysia. A quasi-experimental study design was adopted, which involved 66 dancers (M = 33; F = 33). The study comprised traditional dancers from three ethnic backgrounds, namely, Malay, Chinese and Indian. The descriptive analysis described the level of the dancers’ FMS, as follows: Malay (M = 16.18, SD = 2.062), Chinese (M = 18.50, SD = 1.102), Indian (M = 18.23, SD = 1.445). The ANOVA analysis found a significant difference in the FMS scores among all three groups of dancers, F (2,63) = 14.026, p >.000. The deep squat, hurdle step, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise and trunk stability tests for push-up indicated a significant difference, whereas the inline lunges test and rotational stability tests showed no significance difference. However, the Post Hoc analysis showed no significant difference between the Chinese and Indian dancers. It can be concluded that there is a difference in FMS scores between Malay, Chinese and Indian dancers. FMS may be a useful tool to help identify dancers about the risk of injury and improve their movement quality

The Influence of Passion towards Critical Thinking Disposition among Athletes in University

Passion is a real strength enabling individuals go to action and achieve great things. Many glories of discoveries and achievements were only reached due to enthusiasm and the perseverance that characterize passionate behavior. Critical thinking disposition is essential affective component of critical thinking skills that really beneficial in growth of cognitive knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of passion towards critical thinking disposition among athletes in higher education. The study employs a correlational research design by using survey procedures. A questionnaire composes passion items and critical thinking disposition items were used to collect the data. T- Test was employed to compute the mean in order to identify the significant differences on passion and critical thinking disposition construct between technical and social science fields. Results showed that there was only significant difference on passion in sport but not in critical thinking disposition construct. The multiple regression analysis indicated that harmonious passion weakly influenced critical thinking disposition (Adj. R Square= .052) and most of its subscales. Based on the findings, researcher concludes that harmonious passion towards sport has an impact on critical thinking disposition. More research is needed to concern on critical thinking development underlying harmonious passion among national athletes. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2p56

Level of motor skill development of preschool students

Purpose: The research aims to identify the level of motor skill development among preschool students in Putrajaya. Methodology: The ex post facto research involves 120 six year old preschool children (60 males and 60 females) using Ulrich motor skill assessment (Ulrich, 2000) to measure locomotor and ability to control object. based on the Gross Motor Development Quotient (GMDQ) scores. The scores were furthered analyzed using ANOVA to compare differences in motor performances of preschool students among various preschool centers. Result: The findings showed significant differences in GMDQ scores [F (2,117) = 7.8, p< 05] between government and private students compared to KEMAS preschools students. The age equivalence locomotors score (AEL) with age equivalence measure (AEM) showed a significant difference between government preschoolers with private preschoolers for AEL [F (2,117) =3.41, p< 0.05] and AEM [F (2,117) =7.39, p< 0.05] and KEMAS preschoolers. Findings and discussion: In term of motor skills development among children in the government, private and KEMAS preschools, results showed children in private preschools scored the highest with KEMAS preschools scored highest for AEM. The results also showed a delay in mastering both locomotors (5 to 8 months delay) and controlling objects (10 to 19 months delay) skill among preschool children. The research suggests knowledge of identifying gross motor skills of preschool children needs to be included in preschool teacher’s training curriculum. At the same time, more comprehensive and systematic physical activities should be designed according to the age equivalent to ensure better locomotor development among preschool children regardless where they are either in the government or private preschool centers

Comparison level of handgrip strength, finger grip strength and anthropometric measurement among artificial wall athletes

Purpose: Sport climbing came about in 1980 as a means of physical and technical training for high performance mountain climbers and it became popular as a competitive and recreational sport activities. The aim of this study were to compare the level of handgrip strength in male athletes between three different categories of climbing (boulder, lead, and speed) during indoor wall climbing competition. Grip strength refers to the ability of the fingers and hand to generate muscle power and force (Chang, Chou, Lin, Lin, & Wang, 2010). Methodology: Ex-post facto because the characteristics tested on the subjects occur naturally and cannot be manipulated. Participants were 123 males (boulders; 41, lead; 41, speed; 41) whose average age is 22.46±4 years. All of them are students of a university in Malaysia. The handgrip strength was measured statically using a hand dynamometer (handgrip). Descriptive statistics was used to compare the different of handgrip strength in three categories. Data from both strength tests were compared for the three categories of climbing using ANOVA. Result: Descriptive data for boulder (M=102.646; SD=14.71), lead (M=92.42; SD=15.88), and speed (M=88.13; SD=16.43) were determined. The findings showed significant differences in handgrip strength score in three categories of climbing [F (2,120) =9.26, p=0.000)]. Data analysis by using post hoc turkey test showed significance difference between boulder and lead (p<0.01), and boulder and speed (p=0.000). Finding and discussion: Conclusion from this study boulder climber are stronger the lead climbers in handgrip strength